The TSA And The First Amendment: They Don't Think Much Of That One, Either
The airport Constitution crumplers have their thuggish ways laid bare in a moving and important blog item by Philip Weber at TSANewsBlog, starting with Judge Rees' decision that John Brennan, who dropped his drawers and the rest of his clothes, was protected by the First Amendment right to free speech:

Brennan was doing one of the most decent things imaginable: he was protesting what he saw as an overreach by his government. He was having a "pen(is) is mightier than the sword" moment. He was enjoying that most quintessentially American of rights: the right to free expression.

And that's what really torqued the TSA. Standing in line for their nudie scanner, Brennan mocked them. When they began to order him around, he pulled down his pants in protest. He could have flipped them the bird or called them jackbooted thugs. He could have impugned the purity of the screener's mother. But instead, John Brennan chose to stand quietly showing he had nothing to hide.

You can almost hear the screams of TSAnguish as Brennan gathered up his modesty, tossed it in a trash bin, and set it on fire rather than let them take it from him.

Let's set aside for a moment the question of whether the TSA violates your Fourth Amendment right against unwarranted search and seizure when it looks at you with its magic electro-depantsing machine. Instead consider that the TSA is no fan of the First Amendment either.

The TSA has been accused in the past of cautioning bloggers against writing negative stories about the agency, and they have admitted to keeping one of their harshest critics, Bruce Schneier, from testifying before Congress. They handcuffed and detained college student Aaron Tobey for passing through a checkpoint with the Fourth Amendment written on his chest (Tobey sued; his 4th Amendment claim was thrown out, but the judge allowed his claims on 1st Amendment and unlawful detention grounds to go forward).

At most, TSA agents should have said to John Brennan, "Okay, we get it, you think that current security procedures are overly invasive. We hear that a lot. Here's the phone number for your Congressman's office."

But they didn't.

They had him arrested.

Because they were angry.

Because John Brennan mocked them.

That's why it's too early to celebrate Brennan's acquittal. He was cleared of indecency charges in Multnomah County Circuit Court, but what has not been widely reported is that the TSA is still conducting its own federal investigation to determine if Brennan interfered with the screening process.

And can you guess who's conducting that investigation? Not an independent prosecutor. Not a court. Not a mediator. Not an impartial third party. The TSA will determine, in its sole discretion, if John Brennan wronged them.

A very important point at the end of the piece:

The Supreme Court has long held that Americans are free to travel anywhere they like, at least inside the country (places like Cuba are another matter). It is a right so fundamental, like eating and breathing, that it's not even included in the Constitution (though it was specifically enumerated in the Articles of Confederation). As recently as 2006, the 9th Circuit, which includes Brennan's home city of Portland, reiterated that right. What the 9th Circuit didn't say is that Americans have a right to fly, although 49 USC Section 40103 guarantees citizens the "public right of transit through navigable airspace."

Did John Brennan win a Pyrrhic victory in court last week? Will the TSA try to deny him his fundamental right to travel -- and thereby his livelihood -- because he challenged them?

In some good news for rights-lovers, via Gateway Pundit, the Supreme Court told the EPA that it's not above the law in a case I blogged about here.